If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 64: Iain Dale

The bottling can last much longer. It's just 24 hours until 'Declaration Day'. It my be that one or two Tory MPs will make last minute retirement decisions and the likes of Iain Dale will have one last opportunity to fight for a Commons constituency but time is running short.

Iain's dedication to the Conservative Party is very evident. Sometimes that commitment has not borne fruit. 2005 wasn't a good year for Iain. He fought unsuccessfully against Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb and he was David Davis' chief of staff during the former Shadow Home Secretary's bid for the Tory leadership.

The case for Iain is fivefold:

He's been dedicated to the Conservative Party throughout the lean years. I remember hearing him regularly on Radio Five Live in the party's darkest times; defending the party, flying the blue flag.

He's consistently been one of the party's very best media performers - unflappable, lucid, humorous - representing our party more frequently than 90% of MPs and usually twice as effectively. Donal Blaney calls him TV's Iain Dale.

He's a successful businessman. Politicos Publishing was very profitable and he's now making a success of BiteBack publishing - not least with Peter Watt's Inside Out.

He knows how law-making works and was a leading player in the successful fight to abolish the National Dock Labour Scheme.

He'll work hard. Any Conservative government will be a minority government in the Lords - outnumbered by Labour, Liberal Democrat and crossbench peers. We can't afford too many people who regard being in the Lords as an honour for past works. We need not just working peers but hard working peers. Having worked with Iain I'm constantly amazed at his work-rate. He's more than capable of being an excellent member of the Upper House.

Mark Field MP wrote yesterday that the next Conservative Government should restrict the awarding of any future peerages to those taking up ministerial appointments - or at the very least to stop any retiring MP tainted by the expenses scandal from being ennobled - in advance of creating an elected second chamber.

Quite apart from the arguments against doing that (and there is no suggestion that this would be an early priority for David Cameron), the sheer arithmetic in the Upper House dictates that if there is a Conservative Government after the general election, there is a very strong case for the introduction of a considerable raft of working Conservative peers to rebalance the Lords in the short term at the very least, hence this Search for 100 Peers series.

So with that in mind, which of the retiring Conservative MPs should be awarded a peerage? I have already made the case for Michael Howard whilst Tim has made an equally compelling case for Ann Widdecombe - which was supported by 72% of Conservative members in a ConHome survey.

And on Tuesday at his monthly press conference David Cameron specifically ruled out giving a peerage to Sir John Butterfill on the back of his unwitting appearance on the previous night's Dispatches programme.

But what of the other Conservative retirees? Which of the following do you believe should be ennobled?

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 63: Martin Howe QC

A reader from Essex writes:

"Martin Howe QC should be be nominated for a peerage.

"To some, he is the kind of dry, conservative lawyer, who represents exactly the opposite of the modern Conservative Party. However, he was an early addition to the infamous ‘A’ List, suggesting he was in favour at CCHQ at that time. This is hardly surprising given his talent and expertise. He has the personal endorsement of Cameron insider, Michael Gove, on his CV, but has not been pushed sufficiently by CCHQ to get interviews in safe seats. He previously fought Aberavon for the Conservatives, and has served as a Kensington and Chelsea Borough Councillor. Perhaps being Geoffrey Howe’s nephew has proved a handicap, though their respective views on Thatcher and Europe are chalk and cheese.

"Martin has authored a series of papers about the impact of EU law on Parliament and the UK constitution. He has become a tried and trusted adviser to Conservative ministers and ex-ministers for more than a nearly two decades. Most recently, his Politeia paper on a Sovereignty Act has become the basis of Conservative policy. It is understood that he has advised William Hague on his potential negotiating leverage under the treaties post-Lisbon ratification and on how the UK can reclaim control of crime and justice affairs. He helps the Home Affairs team as part of the Bill of Rights policy commission. Again, manifesto policy reflects what he has advocated. He has also contributed to the work of Iain Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice on courts and sentencing. His EU expertise is based on his extensive experience representing cases up to and including the European Court of Justice, in the field of intellectual property, in which he is acknowledged as the renowned expert in his field.

"He would be a natural Attorney or Solicitor General; given the shortage of up-to-date lawyers on the Conservative benches in the Lords, and the lack of friends David Cameron has amongst them for his EU and ECHR policies, he would seem to be an indispensable, as well as a deserving, addition to the Upper House. The Party would be mistaken to take such expertise for granted. Does he have to work out the value of his legal advice to the Party over the years, and insist it is registered as a donation to get noticed?"

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 62: Jonathan Fisher QC

A reader from London writes:

"I would like to propose that Jonathan Fisher QC be nominated for a peerage.

"He is a highly regarded criminal lawyer, who has been chairman of research of the Society of Conservative Lawyers in recent years.

"Jonathan has published a number of important pamphlets on legal matters, not least his 2006 publication, A British Bill of Rights and Obligations. Highly critical of the European Convention on Human Rights, it was published by the Conservative Liberty Forum. He has also long been a vocal advocate of allowing intercept evidence to be admissible in criminal proceedings.

"A member of the Conservative Party’s Bill of Rights Commission, he has assisted senior members of the Shadow Front Bench team at the highest level and would be an invaluable addition to Parliament if granted a seat in the Upper House."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 61: Dr Tim Evans

Rebecca Baty writes:

"Dr Tim Evans is a former Chief Executive of the Centre for the New Europe in Brussels (2002-2005), Director of Public Affairs at the Independent Healthcare Association in London (1993-2002), and Head of the Slovak Prime Minister's Policy Unit in Bratislava (1991).

"Today, he is Managing Director of the predictive public affairs consultancy Farsight SPI and Director of Business Development for the Stockholm Network. He is also the Senior Fellow for Personal Liberties at the Adam Smith Institute and a Senior Fellow with the Centre for the New Europe.

"He has a PhD from the London School of Economics and has recently been made a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.

"He is a family man living in London, with his wife Dr Helen Evans, who also is involved in campaigning for greater nursing independence.

"I believe that his experience in rebuilding a shattered economy after years of socialist ruination would be invaluable to a new Parliament, and his experience in Brussels as a sceptic invaluable in helping forge our relations with Europe."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 60: General Sir Mike Jackson

James Dancer writes:

"Former Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mike Jackson saw service in all of the major operations of the post-Cold War period from Northern Ireland to Sierra Leone and Iraq, and brings an understanding of the entire breadth of British military, diplomatic and intelligence strength.

"Known well to his senior counterparts in the militaries of the US and other allies, he has served under governments of all political stripes since the 1960s.

"General Jackson might prefer to sit as a crossbench peer but would be strongly supportive of our determination to create an effective National Security Council, to repair the military covenant, support veterans and maintain the transatlantic alliance.

"Having acted with perhaps excess enthusiasm in bringing in other senior military figures as advisers, the appointment of a former CGS as a neutral backbench peer would underline our commitment to create an effective and expert second chamber.

"The next government, through the strategic defence review and our other reforms, will shape our role in the world for decades to come: a voice as distinctive and experienced as that of Mike Jackson should be heard in Parliament.

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

"Every parliamentary chamber needs colour, and who better to provide it in the House of Lords than Gyles Brandreth?

"Gyles was Conservative MP for Chester from 1992 to 1997. Latterly he served as a government whip. He details his experience of political and parliamentary life in his diaries, BREAKING THE CODE, which I still regard as the best political book of the last decade. Some of his colleagues weren’t happy for breaking the whips’ code, and refuse to speak to him to this day, but the rest of us are grateful to him for shining an entertaining, but respectful, light on the inner workings of the ‘usual channels’.

"Since he lost his seat, Gyles has remained totally loyal to the party and remains one of the most sought after speakers. He is an adept fundraiser and has remained a leading light in the world of TV and literary entertainment. He would bring a huge knowledge of the arts and entertainment world to the chamber of the House of Lords and it is easy to imagine him becoming a minister at the DCMS. He has proved himself at every turn, whether in the world of books, TV, business or politics. Parliament needs character, and they don’t come much larger than Gyles Brandreth.

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 58: Shami Chakrabarti

Not all of the nominations in this series are for people who would necessarily be expected to take the Conservative whip, but rather for potential Cross Benchers who would be supportive of significant aspects of the Conservative agenda. I think it's fair to say that today's nomination falls into that category.

"Shami Chakrabarti has been at the forefront of public life since 2001. She is the Director of Liberty (formerly the National Council on Civil Liberties). She will be well known to readers of this site, as a regular on various news broadcasts and a commentator on some of the most vital questions faced by our country.

"Detention without trial, random stop and search, the inclusion of the innocent on the DNA database, the misuse and abuse of covert surveillance powers by local councils and other authorities; Chakrabarti has led the chorus of opposition to the current Government’s illiberal approach. Indeed, liberty is the issue of our time – and it needs more strong advocates in the Upper House.

"Her successful collaboration with David Davis shows that she is more than capable of working with liberty-minded Conservatives; but, such is the importance of this area (which in reality is not a party political issue) that if Chakrabarti wished to sit as a cross-bencher, that should not stand as an obstacle to her appointment by a Conservative Government.

"A gifted orator, she would grace the chamber; a trained lawyer, she would add expertise to the process of analysing legislation. A British Asian woman whose success has unimpeachably been achieved by merit, she is a example of what is best about 21st Century Britain. I commend her to the House."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 57: Alistair Cooke

Michael Brown writes:

"I would like to nominate Alistair Cooke.

"Mr Cooke has been a senior policy adviser and effectively the modern Conservative Party's historian for many years. Apart from a seven-year stint as director general of the Independent Schools Association, he has spent a lifetime working for the party.

"He is universally admired across the party for his research skills. He has worked for every party leader for the past 35 years. Many have said that if it was not for Alistair, David Cameron might never have become party leader. It was Mr Cooke who interviewed him for his first job at the Conservative Research Department in the late 1980s.

"Mr Cooke was honoured with a OBE for his services to politics in 1988, but I believe he would have a major contribution to make in the House of Lords. He is a man of great wisdom with a love of the Party, Parliament and politics."

There are more details about Alistair Cooke's works and writings here on the Conservative Party website.

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 56: Toby Baxendale

Steve Baker writes:

"Toby Baxendale is an Entrepreneur, Economist, Magistrate, Ironman Triathlete, Philanthropist and Family Man.

Being brought up by a single mother in a West London housing association flat, no-one could brand Toby Baxendale a “Tory Toff”. He has made the most of every opportunity: he now owns and runs a successful food wholesale business that turns over in excess of £100 million per year and the range of his personal achievements is staggering.

He is not a man to sit back and pontificate as things around us decay. He rolls up his sleeves and empowers people to make progress. He has set up, with the help of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, the Distinguished Hayek Visiting Fellowship at the London School of Economics. He is a strong advocate for Austrian School economic thinking, making personal academic contributions to measures of the money supply and business cycle theory.

To promote Manchester Liberalism and provide a home for Austrian School economics in the UK, Toby founded The Cobden Centre, "for honest money and social progress". Toby now chairs an impressive team of academics, businessmen and bankers drawn from the UK, Europe and the USA, which promotes concrete alternatives to the flawed economics popular today.

He is an ambassador for microfinance organisation, the Opportunity Trust, and he supports a new charity, GB Job Clubs, chairing the advisory board of their microfinance initiative, the Jericho Programme. Toby works hard to break down barriers to opportunity and to encourage and enable aspiration.

Toby serves the community directly by sitting as a magistrate, an experience which informs his instinct for meaningful social reform. His status as an Ironman triathlete speaks for itself and he is a dedicated husband to a highly successful wife and father to three children.

Toby Baxendale is engaging and thoughtful with a strong character and deep insights based on classical philosophy: he is a contemporary Renaissance Man. Toby has many friends in the Conservative Party and I believe his ennoblement would make available to a Conservative Government a man of considerable talent with a passion for social progress and economic reform."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 55: Michael Spencer

Chris Neal writes:

"You would perhaps expect a Conservative Party Treasurer to be automatically ennobled, but the backlash from ‘cash for honours’ has meant a sensible reticence on the part of party leaders to proceed with gongs for major donors. Maybe this is why Michael Spencer has not joined illustrious recent predecessors including their Lordships Marland, Harris, Ashcroft and Kalms, despite a number of valid ancillary reasons to acknowledge his considerable contributions to business, charity and politics.

"He founded and is Chief Executive of what in 1986 was a small derivatives inter dealer broker that through his stewardship has grown to become the world’s largest. ICAP dominates the world stage in their field and brings considerable revenue to the UK exchequer in corporation tax and income tax paid by their employees. Spencer is an expert on the wholesale banking system and the complex world of derivatives.

"For 17 years Spencer has encouraged his City colleagues to dig deep and donate a day of their revenues to charity: their tally in December 2009 was £11.5m, taking them to an impressive total that now exceeds £75m.

"Elevated to the House of Lords and with a suitable portfolio advising the treasury team, he would bring clarity to a system that has hitherto confused many in politics. The banking and financial services industry is being demonised and as with the expenses scandal in Westminster, a few bad apples have tarred the whole system. This current Government is in danger of ‘killing the golden goose’ with its pernicious 50% tax on bonuses. We are already witnessing the departure of many in the global financial industry from the City of London to more tax and regulatory friendly jurisdictions.

"Spencer possesses a wealth of experience and understanding of this complex global industry and could help a Conservative Government retain the talent we have in the City, potentially attract new participants and create the regulatory framework needed to prevent a repeat of the crisis. He is clearly respected and trusted by David Cameron and George Osborne they would do well to harness his keen intellect, knowledge and business acumen."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 54: Roger Scruton

Jeremy Havard writes:

"Roger Scruton has long given a powerful voice to Conservative (also with a small ‘c’) philosophy and is probably the finest contemporary British philosopher. He is a superb thinker and is most articulate on many matters which the next government will need to address, some with urgency.

"Among these, he provides an authentic voice for the countryside (without being from the ‘landed’ classes) and the Arts (he has written two operas which have been performed in public); he has written widely on matters of immigration and integration in terms which add substance to the quality of a long-overdue debate; on radical Islamism (his book ‘The West and the Rest’ was written in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and shows an incisive perception of the issue); on the need to defend the nation state and its culture; and he is most articulate on democratic Conservatism being the right system for the people, as opposed to socialism, arguing powerfully and persuasively against the transfer of power from local communities to the State – something about which David Cameron could use some advice.

"He has long been politically active, having helped dissidents in Czechoslovakia since 1979, as well as Hungary and Poland until the fall of Communism in 1989. He was a founding editor of the ‘Salisbury Review’ and is currently on its editorial board, along with those of ‘The British Journal of Aesthetics’ and opendemocracy.net. He is a trustee of the Educational Research Trust and is also a qualified Barrister.

"In conclusion, he has much to contribute and considerable intellectual firepower and oratory to bring to bear on the issues of today."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 53: Simon Weston

Martin Sewell writes:

"The selection of peers will inevitably contain a full complement of politicos and obvious supporters, but my preference would always be to include a few "wild cards" who would bring either special expertise or experience. It will do the party no harm to show a leavening of the predictable mix, thereby emphasising that a David Cameron Government did not lack the confidence to promote independent minds.

"Simon Weston joined the Army at the insistence of his mother who feared he was "going off the rails". He served in Ulster and Kenya before becoming a victim of the Falklands War where he received terrible 48% burns when the Sir Gallahad was hit in Bluff Cove.

"The story of his recovery, which included over 70 operations, and a reconciling meeting with the Argentine pilot responsible for his injuries, became well known to the public via television documentaries. He has used his public acceptance to good effect, becoming an obvious role model for the seriously disfigured. He has undertaken significant charity work on behalf of the Guards Association, the Healing Foundation and the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation. He has also been the recruiting face for the Police Service. For such work he has already been awarded the OBE. He remains grounded and unspoilt by his celebrity status.

"There was a time when Parliament was well stocked with those of military experience; this is no longer the case. The Upper House would particularly benefit from one who would represent the point of view of the ordinary squaddie. He has been critical of the Blair Government's reasons for entry into the Iraq War, advocated the proper equipping of our Armed Services, and in 2008 appeared with David Cameron to announce a Commission of Enquiry into the country's commitment into the Military Covenant. His special interest has led him to question the way we treat our injured service personnel and he has given evidence on the ethics of full face transplants - a subject on which he has modified his opinion. Such openness to revision is a rare quality which might hopefully become contagious in the House of Lords.

"His appointment would present a particular challenge to the Brown Spin Machine which might struggle to weave it into their class war narrative."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 52: Michael Howard

Jonathan Isaby writes:

"Whilst I would expect former party leaders departing the Commons to be awarded a peerage automatically on leaving the Commons, it is nonetheless worth making the case for the ennoblement of Michael Howard.

"He has given decades of service to the party and the country, holding ministerial office under both Thatcher and Major, serving in Cabinet as Employment Secretary, Environment Secretary and finally Home Secretary. Moreover, he took the helm of the party at a difficult time in 2003 and steered it through a general election where it made its first electoral advances in a generation.

"It can also be said that he acted as midwife at the birth of David Cameron's Conservatives, having been the one to promote both David Cameron and George Osborne (and also the now Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling) to the Shadow Cabinet. He continues to work hard in the party's interest: I noted last July, for example, that without any fanfare he joined the hundreds of activists delivering leaflets in the Norwich North by-election.

"Taking all that, along with his legal experience (he is of course a QC), I can only conclude that he would be a worthy addition to the Conservative benches in the Lords - and from there he could yet be called by David Cameron to serve in government again."

This time last year we began a search for one hundred Conservative peers. This was on the basis that if David Cameron is elected Prime Minister, he will have every right to increase the strength of the Tory benches in the Upper House, since the number of Conservative peers - 189 out of a House of 706 - is now at an all-time low, a point Tim recently re-iterated.

In the first phase of the series we reached just over halfway and the list of those already nominated is below (Click here to see all the nominations).

We are planning to publish the second phase of nominations in the New Year, so now we are again seeking your suggestions.

As before, if you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where requested.

The list includes, among others, a number of businessmen, thinkers, civic leaders, former MPs and senior party activists, all with their own areas of experience and expertise. Whilst some of those new entrants to the Lords would be working peers contributing from the backbenches, there will also be those appointed with a view to serving in a ministerial capacity. We also previously included a few small-'c' conservatives whom we would not expect to take the Conservative whip, but whose world view was deemed worthy of being heard in the House of Lords.

This morning I have already written about how David Cameron will need to appoint a new raft of Tory peers if he becomes Prime Minister.

And right on cue the new edition of PR Week contains a list of 20 people tipped to be made Tory peers if David Cameron becomes Prime Minister as apparently provided to Mandate Communications, the public affairs agency.

However, the list's veracity has been immediately called into doubt by the Evening Standard's Paul Waugh, who points out that one of those on the list - David Freud - is already a member of the House of Lords, having been ennobled back in June, whilst I note that another - General Sir Richard Dannatt - had his impending peerage announced by David Cameron in Manchester last week.

Furthermore, Kirstie Allsopp's name appears in the story but then not on the list of twenty names at the end of the piece. (Update: Kirstie Allsopp's name has now replaced that of David Freud in the PR Week story)

Nonetheless, some of the names highlighted are credible candidates for ennoblement, not least because they have been proposed as possible appointees in ConHome's Search for 100 Peers feature.

For what they are worth, here are those other eighteen names on the list:

It was one of the oddest pairings in politics. At the 2001 General Election William Hague's top two frontbenchers were the socially liberal Michael Portillo and the socially conservative Ann Widdecombe. Let's just say that they didn't always get along.

PoliticsHome are polling today on whether Michael Portillo should be appointed to the red benches, too. What do ConHome readers think?

A former Defence Secretary and leadership candidate. Chairman of the Man Booker Prize Jury. Serial media pundit. Full biog on his website.

I dislike Michael Portillo's blood-on-the-carpet modernising but I admire his foreign policy outlook. I'd support his nomination but there is the question of whether he would take the Tory whip. I'm not sure he's still a party member. He certainly didn't vote for Boris.

ConservativeHome is half way through our search for one hundred peers. Madsen Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute was the final nominee in the first tranche. Jonathan Isaby is pausing while more nominations are collected and we will resume the feature shortly.

One decision we took was not to include sitting MPs in the nomination process but I'm going to make an exception today. I heard some gossip - and it is only gossip - that Ann Widdecombe was unlikely to be nominated for a peerage.

It's true that Miss Widdecombe has sometimes made herself unpopular with the current leadership - not least over the A-list. Many activists don't like her views on foxhunting and her attacks on Michael Howard were regrettable but I still think she deserves a place in the Upper House.

Here are a few reasons:

An MP since 1987 she was a very effective Government Minister at the end of the Major years. She will be the most senior female Tory retiring at the next General Election (although she'd hate the idea of being put in the Lords because of her gender!).

In our darkest, earliest hours of opposition she lifted morale. From the backbenches she led the onslaught against Tony Blair at PMQs. Those feisty performances led William Hague to bring her on to the frontbench. Her speeches at Party Conference when she was Shadow Health Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary were enormous treats for activists.

She is only 61. She has the health and spirit to make an active contribution to the Upper House.

Tony Benn divides the world of politicians into weather vanes and signposts. Miss Widdecombe is definitely a signpost. She is unafraid to say what she thinks in an age when too many politicians won't move until they've seen what an opinion poll thinks they should say. Her straight-talking is one of the reasons why she is such a popular figure in the country. She writes a weekly column for The Express. People like her candour even when they disagree with her views.

The House of Lords would benefit from her socially conservative, Catholic voice. Her views on the family and her campaigning for the unborn are supported by millions of Britons. Those Britons deserve formidable representatives in the Lords. A Baroness Widdecombe would be such a representative.

She continues to work hard for the party to this day. A little research has led me to discover that Ann Widdecombe still attends two or more events per week in the support of our party. Just ask Mark Coote in Cheltenham, Andy Stephenson in Pendle, Nigel Adams in Selby, Mel Stride in Central Devon, Robert Buckland in Swindon South, Conor Burns in Bournemouth West, Mark Reckless in Rochester and Strood. The list is a long one...

I've often said that David Cameron should show generosity towards parliamentarians who have sometimes crossed him and it would be a unifying, statesmanlike gesture for him to put Ann Widdecombe on the red benches.

Tim Montgomerie

PS And for the suspicious readers out there I have had no contact with Ann Widdecombe in the preparation of this post!

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 51: Dr Madsen Pirie

Russell Walters writes:

"I’d like to nominate Dr Madsen Pirie, President of the Adam Smith Institute, who has been a prominent and particularly effective advocate of free markets, especially during the 1979-97 Conservative Government.

"Originally a qualified Conservative agent turned councillor, he received 2 degrees and a PhD before working for the Republicans in the US Congress and lecturing in logic and philosophy. At the helm of the ASI he published numberless proposals that broke new ground in promoting markets, incentives, opportunities, privatisation and contracting out, many of which he drafted himself. Dr Pirie’s relentless optimism about freedom and intellectually pugnacious critiques of the public sector inspired Conservatives at every level in the 1980s and often beat a path the Government followed.

"Author of scholarly works on economics and public policy, as well as popular books on logic, Dr Pirie’s eloquence and grasp of the fundamentals of philosophy and policy would add weight and prestige to the Conservative team in the Lords.”

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 50: Michael Burleigh

A reader from London writes:

"I would like to nominate Michael Burleigh for appointment to a House of Lords in need of greater historical, intellectual and cultural insight. I feel that Burleigh, as one of Britain’s leading historians, authors and commentators, would make a tremendous addition to the Upper House.

"Burleigh has held numerous academic posts both at home (UCL, New College Oxford, LSE, Cardiff and Buckingham University) and across the Atlantic (Rutgers, Washington & Lee and Stanford). His books command an international audience and have been translated into eleven languages. He has also been active in television history – indeed he holds the rare distinction of having won three television awards (British Film Institute Award for Archival Achievement, New York Film and TV Festival Bronze Medal and an Emmy for Best TV Documentary) and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction for The Third Reich: A New History in 2001.

"Michael Burleigh would be a compelling candidate simply on the basis of his credentials as an historian, but he is also a remarkably engaging, and engaged, commentator on the present. Besides being a regular contributor to the The Telegraph, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Daily Mail, Burleigh is also an authority on terrorism and security. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke has recommended Burleigh’s latest book – Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism – as required reading for counter-terrorism officers. Burleigh has advised the Conservative Shadow Defence Group in the House of Commons, and his work is often referenced by David Cameron, for instance in his speech on foreign policy and counter-terrorism in Islamabad last September. Indeed his recent works Earthly Powers and Sacred Causes have drawn praise from still more exalted quarters, as conveyed by His Holiness the Pope!

"Burleigh has also made a major contribution to medical ethics through his work on Nazi Germany (for instance Death and Deliverance: Euthanasia in Germany 1900-45 and the Channel 4 documentary ‘Selling Murder: The Nazi Euthanasia Programme’), and has lectured extensively to medical audiences, here and abroad.

"Moreover Burleigh is active on the advisory boards of Standpoint magazine, and the think-tanks Policy Exchange and New Culture Forum, which currently represent some of the liveliest and most important mediums of forward-thinking and debate in this country. Michael Burleigh’s combination of historical perspective, and informed insight into some of the most important matters of our time, would make a better House of Lords. A thinker so highly regarded across the globe would surely provide just the kind of intellectual substance sought by a Conservative Government under David Cameron."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 49: Stanley Fink

A reader from London writes:

"I
would nominate Stanley Fink for a peerage in ConservativeHome's search for 100 peers.

"Recently appointed as a co-Treasurer of the Party, he is widely regarded as the “Godfather of UK Hedge Funds” but decided to retire some 15 years before the usual age from the Man Group, the industry giant he helped create.

"He is rumoured to give something in the region of £2 million a year to charities and is a Trustee of ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) and Chairman of the Evelina Children’s Hospital Appeal Committee as well as being a sponsor of the City Academy School, Burlington Danes.

"Meanwhile, on the political front, he has been appointed by George Osborne to lead a working group on the environmental market and was one of those behind Boris Johnson’s successful campaign to be London Mayor.

"Unusually in the City, Stanley is highly regarded and admired by his peers and competitors alike and he would have much to contribute to the House of Lords."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 48: Dr Eamonn Butler

Edward Heckels writes:

"I would like to nominate Dr Eamonn Butler.

"Dr Butler was a co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute, for 30 years Britain’s leading think tank promoting free-market economic and social policies, and he has served as the Institute's Director for many years.

"Under Dr Butler, the Institute has been at the intellectual leading edge of the UK debate on privatisation, including the sale of state enterprises, the commercialization of government agencies, contracting-out of local services, and the introduction of internal markets in health and education.

"He has written numerous books on economic theory and practice and he remains a prolific writer in national magazines and newspapers on a broad range of subjects including health policy, economic management, taxation and public spending, transport, pensions, and e-government.

"Few people can equal Dr Butler's contribution to the development of policy on the centre-right of British politics. He would be a powerful supporter of free-market economic and social policies in the House of Lords."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 47: Michael Dobbs

A reader from Buckinghamshire writes:

"Michael Dobbs is one of the brightest and most interesting British authors, with a great power of observation and knowledge of the political scene.

"Born on the same day as the Prince of Wales, he has educational qualifications obtained both in the USA and the UK and covering law, diplomacy and even nuclear defence studies. He has been a journalist, a broadcaster and a speechwriter for many Conservative politicians. As an adviser to Lady Thatcher during her years as Leader of the Opposition and later Chief of Staff and a Deputy Chairman of the Party, he knows the body politic inside out.

"His creation of Francis Urquhart in House of Cards seems to be based on his unique understanding and insight into the darker arts and let us not forget he himself was known as "the baby faced hitman" during his time in politics - according to the Guardian!

"His novels on Winston Churchill are magnificent and show his real grip on the world of Westminster and beyond. Coupled with his commercial experience in Saatchi and Saatchi and his broadcasting experience, I think this is a man who would bring a depth of understanding and a literary spark to the red benches. He is personable and approachable - a family man, an undoubted intellect and a proper Tory. What more could we want from a modern peer?"

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 46: Sir Andrew Green

A reader from London writes:

"For decades immigration was seen by many politicians (and much of the media “establishment”) as a no-go zone: multiculturalism and political correctness meant that this was a subject only fools, mavericks, extremists or political kamikazes talked about. And then came Sir Andrew Green.

"Sir Andrew was a career diplomat, serving as the UK’s ambassador in Syria and then Saudi Arabia. Returning home to Oxfordshire, he has devoted his retirement to revealing the truth about what had happened in his absence: immigration controls had been relaxed – if they ever existed – and the result was the greatest surge of immigration in to the UK since 1066.

"Deploying the best skills of the Foreign Office (forensic examination of the facts and a stubborn but courteous wish to get answers) - and with the aid of a small body of volunteers - he forced Ministers to admit what he and others suspected: no one had a clue who was coming in to the country, and that the concept of “immigration control” was a contradiction in terms. Overcoming the reluctance of the liberal media to report this, his efforts to see immigration debated on the basis of fact, not fiction, has made MigrationWatch UK one of the most successful political campaigns in recent years. Immigration can now be debated without those who question the benefits of large scale immigration being branded “racists”.

"Sir Andrew himself now appears to know more about the workings (and failings) of the immigration system than most civil servants in the Home Office. Nicholas Soames and Frank Field, aided by him are now campaigning for all major parties to commit to balanced migration (when immigration equals emigration) to prevent the UK’s population hitting 70 million by 2028.

"Should David Cameron put Sir Andrew on the red benches so he can reap the benefits of his expertise? It's a no-brainer: if Cameron really wants to get a grip on the immigration system, of course he should. The real question is whether Sir Andrew – whose mastery of politically neutrality has fuelled his success – would accept such an offer."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 45: Angela Knight

A reader from Scotland writes:

"I
would like to see Angela Knight nominated for a peerage.

"Her promising Westminster career was brought to an all too abrupt halt in 1997 - after a single term as MP for Erewash - when her majority was wiped out along with so many others in Labour's landslide.

"But in that short Commons career she made her mark, achieving ministerial office after just three years, serving as Economic Secretary to the Treasury between 1995 and 1997. Prior to becoming an MP, she loyally flew the Tory flag for five years as an elected member of Sheffield City Council - where she was a True Blue in what has often been described as the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire.

"With a chemistry degree and a career in business also behind her, after losing her parliamentary seat she went on to become the Chief Executive of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers. Since 2006 she has been Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association, in which capacity she has regularly been appearing in the media of late.

"Angela still has lots to contribute to public life and she would make an excellent peer of the realm and - perhaps - could shine again as a minister in a future Conservative Government."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 44: Dominic Lawson

A reader from the West Midlands writes:

"I would like to nominate Dominic Lawson.

"He of course the son of a serving life peer, the former Chancellor, Lord Lawson. But he has a wealth of experience of his own - primarily as an opinion former in the media - which would make him an ideal candidate for the Lords.

"He was editor of the Spectator for five years in the early 1990s and went on to edit the Sunday Telegraph between 1995 and 2005. Today his byline continues to appear in a number of publications.

"He is one of the foremost centre-right journalists of his generation and, despite not following his father into the House of Commons, it should be hoped that a man of his undoubted intellect and strong Conservative convictions could be put to good use in the Upper House."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 43: Nirj Deva

Peter Cuthbertson writes:

"I wish to nominate Nirj Deva, who is a Conservative MEP for the South East of England. Previously, Nirj was the Conservative Party's first Asian MP of modern times, representing Brentford and Isleworth from 1992 to 1997. Since 1985 he has held the position of Her Majesty's Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Greater London. Sri Lankan-born, Nirj first became prominent in Conservative politics in the early Thatcher years as an advisor to Willie Whitelaw. He was elected Chairman of the Bow Group in 1981.

"Since he was elected to the European Parliament a decade ago, after drawing much attention with the energy of his campaign, Nirj has made international development his passionate focus, and boasts years of experience on the issue.

"Tokenism need play no part in this nomination. Nirj is a rare as an elected Tory in his Asian ethnicity and expertise in development, but on this issue, and on race, he is robustly conservative - sceptical both of multiculturalism and of no-questions-asked foreign aid policies that enrich only dictators and their henchmen. One of the eurosceptic members of the Tory delegation, he has championed in Brussels a broad range of worthy causes, such as autism awareness, the campaign against child labour, human rights in Zimbabwe and - through the pro-life caucus, which he heads - the rights of unborn children.

"As a member of the House of Lords, Nirj could contribute his passion, his experience and his conservatism to the deliberations of the Upper House. From these benches, he would also be in a position, if asked, to contribute at the ministerial level to the next Conservative Government's policies towards the developing world."

It should be noted that after this year's European elections it will no longer be permissible for an MEP to be a peer sitting and voting in the House of Lords (since MEPs will not be allowed to have a dual mandate as a member of a national legislature). As such, if Nirj Deva were to be nominated to the Lords, he would have to relinquish his place in the European Parliament.

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

No. 42: Mike Whitby

Duncan Flynn writes:

"I
would like to nominate Councillor Mike Whitby.

"He has been the Conservative Group Leader on Birmingham City Council since 2003 and the Leader of Birmigham City Council since 2004. As leader of Europe's largest local authority, Mike Whitby has managed the local authority of Britain's second largest city in coalition with the Liberal Democrats for the last five years.

"Under his direction, Birmingham City Council has returned a below inflation Council Tax rise of 1.9% for the past four years, making Birmingham's council tax the lowest average across 3 years for any Metropolitan Council in the UK - despite Birmingam's audit star rating going from zero in 2004 to 3 stars in 2008, breaking a stranglehold of Labour control.

"He is also a former parliamentary candidate for the Welsh seat of Delyn in 1992."

If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.

"When Janet Daley speaks the Left is terrified. Her defence of aspiration inspires. Her common sense is admired by those who pay the price of socialism through NHS waiting lists, bad schools, and unsafe streets.

"As a Berkeley student, she rebelled against the suppression of free speech. When she emigrated to Harold Wilson’s socialist paradise her Left-wing illusions were shattered. She was shocked by a working class which saw ambition as “putting ideas into one’s head”; by Left-wing intellectuals who ridiculed upward mobility as bourgeois sentiment; and by an upper class differentiating through secret customs. Janet Daley is a meritocrat who wants Joe Bloggs to shine – a sentiment which was turned into popular policies under Margaret Thatcher.

"Being plunged into the darkness during the Winter of Discontent made things very clear for Janet and many others. She understood that when the population is pushed into state housing dependency, self reliance goes out of the window. She highlighted how the state health service resulted in shortages for all. She sees the disappearance of discipline in the classroom as the result of a permissive education. When Islamic fundamentalism shows its totalitarian aversion for human rights and freedoms, she calls it fascism.

"Janet challenges the Left’s dogmas in numerous articles and media appearances. She wants to liberate ordinary people from the shackles of the state. For this she deserves the ermine."